Handhole cap



Feb. 10. 1925. 1,526,263

w. G. WILSON .HANDHOLE CAP Filed De. 31 1923 WITNESS:

INV ENTOR A'ITORN EY Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

wirrinivi e. Winsen, or wis-sr new Balearen, new YORK.

Hannnonn cer.

applicati@ inea neemter e1, 192s. serial N0. ceases,

To all zo/10m t may concern.

Be it known that I, IVnjJLiAM G. VVrnsoN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at lWest New Brighton, in the county of Richmond and State ot' New York, have invented new7 and useful Improvements inI-Iai'ndlroleCaps, of which tlrefollowing is a speciiication.

'lhis invention relates hand hole caps for use in connection with boilers or4 tanks.

f lleprinciplal object of the invention is the provision of a safety cap which may be easily applied to the boiler or tank to seal the hand holepwithout necessitating the removal of the contents of the boiler or tank.

Another :object of" the invention is to provide a hand holecap which may be applied to aboiler without the fear of being burned or scalded by escaping steam or water.

VWith these and other objects in View, the invention resides in certain novel construction and combination and arrangement of parts, the essential features of which are hereinafter fully described, are particularly pointed out in the appended claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front view of my invention applied over a hand hole opening in a boiler.

Figure 2 is a vert-ical sectional view on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a. detail perspective view of the parts sepa-rated.

It sometimes occurs that a leaking hand hole gasket is discovered prior to the sailing of a ship which at present requires that the engineer pull the fire and empty the boiler containing water or steam, and wait until the same is sufficiently cool before repairing the leak. This often delays sailing of ships which is costly in both time and money and it is therefore my intention to provide a cap which may be applied over the hand hole on the exterior of the boiler plate to stop the leak and which cap can ne applied while the boilers are filled with their contents. Whereas, I have mentioned .one instance to which my invention may be used, it is to be understood that the same might be used in connection with hand holes for all types and shapes of boilers, or if desired upon man-holes. i

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral l designates a `hand hole plate of a boiler or `tank and has formed therein the usual hand hole opening 11.` The opening 11 is closed from the inner side of the boiler by means of a. head 12, and a `gasket 13 is interposed betiveen the head and the plate` te prevent leakage at this particular joint. The head 12 supports a bolt 1a which extends through the opening 11 and projects a considerable distance on the outside of the plate and has its free end screw threaded as at 15. A crowfoot- 16 having a bore 17 therein is insertible on the bolt and abuts the outside of the plate 10 when in position as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. The crow-foot 16 is held against the plate adjacent the opening 11 by means of a member 18 which is provided with an internal threaded bore 19 for coaction with `the threads on the bolt. The member is adapted to be forced against tlie crow-foot to hold the same in clamping engagement with the plate and to likewise bring the head 12 in sealing engagement with the plate whereby a tight joint is produced between the head and the plate to seal the opening' 11. In the event that the joint between the head and the plate were to spring a leak, a. cap 20 is provided which is of a. cup formation. The cap 2O has its peripheral edge formed with a dove-tail groove 21 which receives a gasket 22, having a similar shaped portion 23 for co-action with the groove 21. The member 18 is formed with a nut surface 24 and an externally screw threaded portion 25 over which the cap 20 is passed, the cap having a smooth bore 26 of a diameter to receive the portion 25 of the member. Vhen the cap is moved to its position on the bolt so as to bring the gasket against the plate, a washer 27 v over the member and brought against the cap 20. The washer 27 is formed with a gasket 28 which is embedded in the washer in the same manner as the gasket 22 of the cap. This is to prevent leakage through the bore 20, and a. nut 30 co-act-s with the threads 25 and is brought j amb against the washer so as to hold the cap in sealing engagement with the outside of a. plate. The end of the bolt 14. is tapered as at 31, whereby the nut may be easily guided when applying the same. In order to relieve the pressure ot escaping steam or water against the cap when applying the same, I provide the cap with stop-cocks 32 which may be opened to is passedL Cil permit the escape of steam or water in a direction away from the person applying the cap. There is also provided a boss 33 in the exterior portion of a cap, the same being formed with athreaded recess 84 for the reception of the threaded end of a length of pipe which may serve as a handle so that the cap may be brought in position while standing al distance from the hand hole plate. The cap may beheld in this manner iintil the clamping action is set up by the application of the nut 30, after which the pipe is removed and the stop-cock shut oli".

If desired, the bolt 14 may be extended and the member i8 dispensed with whereupon the washer 27 and the nut 30 are applied directly to the bolt.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the manner of applying the inven tion is clearly set forth and a further description is not deemed necessary. It will be noted that the shape of the opening and cap is shown in this instance as an oval in plan, but the same may be of any configuration desired without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a plate having a hand hole opening therein, means for sealing said opening from the inside of said plate, in-

cluding a head, a gasket interposed between said head and said plate, a bolt extending from said head and through said opening, a crow-foot, a member threaded on said bolt and contacting with said crow-foot to hold the same and said head in clamping engagement with said plate, a cap slidable over said member, and means co-acting with said member for forcing said cap in sealing engagement with the exterior of said plate without disturbing the adjustment of said member.

2. In a means for sealing the hand hole opening of a boiler, a head, a bolt extending from said head and through said opening, a crow-foot on said bolt, a member threaded on said bolt for forcing said crow-footand head into clamping engagement with said plate, an external threaded portion formed on said meml'ier, in combination with a cap adapted to be applied over the outside of said hand hole opening upon the leaking of said means having a smooth bore therein insertible over said member, a washer having a gasket thereon for co-action with said cap, and anut for co-action with the threads on said member for holding the cap in sealing engagement with the plate and the washer in sealing engagement with said cap.

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature.

WILLIAM G. WILSON. 

